Certificates of Lawfulness Explained

There are a variety of circumstances where Certificates of Lawfulness may be useful: from simply confirming that works have been carried out lawfully, to providing a material fallback position that forms the basis for other forms of development, they are an extremely important and, arguably, under-utilised element of the planning system.

Certificates come in two forms: those for existing uses and development, and those for proposed. Certificates for existing uses and developments are most commonly used to confirm that a development has been undertaken under permitted development rights, or has become immune from planning controls through the passage of time. The time limits for breaches of planning control now stands at 10 years, although there are still some cases where a 4-year rule applies, depending on the nature and age of the breach.

Occasionally, this type of Certificate is also sought to confirm that works have commenced in accordance with a planning permission already granted, in order to safeguard that permission in perpetuity, although this is often a less cost-effective way of seeking that confirmation.

Certificates of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development are most frequently used to confirm that a proposed development does not require a grant of planning permission from the local planning authority. Most commonly, this relates to permitted development rights. This is also the more cost-effective method of seeking confirmation that works undertaken under the grant of a planning permission amount to a lawful commencement of that development.

If you have a development where you consider that obtaining a Certificate of Lawfulness may be beneficial, or are considering development options for your land and are interested in understanding potential fallback options under the permitted development regime, give us a call.

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